NASA renews launch site services contract at Virginia spaceport

NASA intends to award a five-year contract to the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (VCSFA) for launch site services supporting missions conducted from the agency's Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) in Virginia. [Full story]

Receive DCNewsroom email alerts, subscribe here.

AF seeks to reduce satellite operating cost by using NOAA infrastructure

The U.S. Air Force is conducting an industry survey to determine the feasibility and associated cost for incorporating the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) command and control (C2) capability within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite ground system located at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility (NSOF) in Suitland, Md. [Full story]

Receive DCNewsroom email alerts, subscribe here.

Air Force meets with industry to discuss KC-46 maintenance contract

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center is hosting a series of Industry Day meetings this month to provide potential prime contractors with greater insight into program requirements and to foster competition in the acquisition of the KC-46 Maintenance Training System. A notice announcing the meeting was released Friday.

The KC-46 is a new widebody multi-role tanker for the Air Force.

The Industry Day meetings will be conducted at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Jan. 27-31.

Receive DCNewsroom email alerts, subscribe here.

Three rockets scheduled for launch from Virginia coast

Three Terrier-Orion suborbital rockets are scheduled for launch between 1 and 5 a.m. EST Tuesday for the Department of Defense from NASA's launch range on Wallops Island, Va.

At the request of Department of Defense project managers, no real-time status updates will be available when the rockets liftoff. “The launch will not be shown live on the Internet nor will launch status updates be provided on social media once the countdown begins,” NASA said in a statement on Friday. “The NASA Visitor Center at Wallops will not be open for viewing the launch.”

The three rockets, which will be launched within a 20-second period, may be visible to residents in the mid-Atlantic region.

The backup launch days are Wednesday through Saturday.

Receive DCNewsroom email alerts, subscribe here.